Melvin Goodman (2019-08-30). The Great Cost and Myth of U.S. Defense Spending. counterpunch.org Journalists and pundits regularly refer to U.S. defense spending as greater than the next seven or eight countries. Nonsense! U.S. defense spending when correctly tabulated exceeds the defense spending of the rest of the global community. Current defense spending is greater than $1 trillion and the bipartisan support for U.S defense spending assures continued increases. Many of the largest spenders on defense, moreover, are our treaty allies. More

Pierre Sprey, Chuck Spinney and Winslow T. Wheeler (2019-08-30). Bankrupt and Irrelevant: the Presidential Debates and Four Recent Studies on Pentagon Spending. counterpunch.org In the almost 12 hours of Democratic Party presidential primary debates on June 26-27 and July 30-31, the words \"Pentagon budget\" or \"defense spending\" were not uttered, except for a fleeting, unanswered comment from Senator Bernie Sanders. Nor did any of the cable news moderators ask a single question about the more than $1.25 trillion More

Sam Husseini (2019-08-30). Film Official Secrets Is Tip of Mammoth Iceberg. fair.org by Sam Husseini | Two-time Oscar nominee Keira Knightley is known for being in period pieces such as Pride and Prejudice, so her playing the lead in the new film Official Secrets, released in the US on Friday, August 30, may seem odd at first. That is, until one considers that the time span depicted—the early 2003 run-up to the invasion of Iraq—is one of the most dramatic and consequential periods of modern human history. | It is also one of the most poorly understood, in part because the story of Katharine Gun, played by Knightley, is so little known. I should say from the outset that having follo…

Siddika Degia (2019-08-30). Roots of the Kashmir conflict. workers.org The writer is a Muslim woman born in a rural village in Gujarat, India. India, one of the oldest civilizations, fell under British colonial rule starting in the late 1700s. With British imperialism came the reinforcement of dividing people by religious groups, castes, languages spoken and nationalities, so that the . . . | Continue reading Roots of the Kashmir conflict at Workers.org

Marwa Osman (2019-08-30). Trump Hits Lebanon Bank with His Favorite Econo-Political Battering Ram. mintpressnews.com The fact that the U.S. sanctions countries whenever its president pleases could in itself be considered a hostile act. Even in wartime, these sorts of collective punishments are illegal under the Geneva Conventions.

Paul Atwood (2019-08-30). Making a Killing From Killing. counterpunch.org Thieves of private property pass their lives in chains; thieves of public property in riches and luxury. — Cato the Elder Though I encounter students and other young people who have never heard the term I hope most Americans are aware of the \"Military Industrial Complex.\" In his final speech to the nation President Eisenhower, More

Joe Piette (2019-08-30). Justice demanded for \"comfort women\" workers.org Three young activists, biking across the U.S. from Los Angeles to New York City, stopped in Philadelphia on Aug. 26 to raise awareness about the issue of justice for women once held in military sexual slavery by Japan. As part of the Triple A Project to educate the public about . . . | Continue reading Justice demanded for \"comfort women\" at Workers.org

RT (2019-08-30). Trump targets China\'s century-old debt in latest trade war maneuver — report. rt.com The Trump administration may be eyeing long-defaulted Chinese bonds as a weapon in its ongoing trade war with Beijing, according to people who hold the antique debt and say they\'ve met with the president to discuss it. | Trump\'s top trade warriors are \"studying\" the possibility of calling in century-old debts incurred by China before the nation went communist, according to a Bloomberg report published on Thursday. China doesn\'t recognize the debt, of course, and decades of attempts to collect by owners of the aging bonds (which sell on eBay as collectors\' items) have amounted to naught, but with a full-blown e…

RT (2019-08-30). Trump\'s personal assistant resigns after caught leaking information to media — report. rt.com Madeleine Westerhout, Trump\'s personal assistant and \'veteran\' of the administration, has reportedly stepped down after she was accused of sharing details about the Trump family and the White House\'s inner workings with media. | The scoop on Westerhout\'s exit through the Trump administration\'s revolving door was reported by the New York Times on Thursday. | Also on rt.com | | \'Leaks real, the news is fake\': Reporters hit out at Trump trashing of media | US President Donald Trump was reportedly made aware of Westerhout\'s \'betrayal\' on Thursday. The woman…

Stephen Cooper (2019-08-30). Judge Marks and Mass Incarceration in the Middle District of Alabama. counterpunch.org In 2016, together with former colleague Assistant Federal Public Defender Donnie W. Bethel, I wrote, \"eople of all persuasions, political parties, and philosophies have awakened to the terrible toll the crises of overcriminalization and mass incarceration have wrought on America.\" Then, a year later, highlighting the \"criminalization of addiction,\" I wrote about Benny King — one of Bethel\'s clients — More

The Canary (2019-08-30). Google says hackers have been putting \'monitoring implants\' in iPhones for years. thecanary.co Hackers have been using compromised websites to install \"monitoring implants\" in iPhones for years, according to researchers at Google.The malicious software gathers users\' images, contacts and other information.Ian Beer, from Google\'s Project Zero, said in a blog post that the hacked sites had received thousands of visitors each week.Beer said: There was no target discrimination; simply visiting the hacked site was enough for the exploit server to attack your device, and if it was successful, to install a monitoring implant.Project Zero is the technology company\'s team for examining new security vulnerabilities.B…

Staff (2019-08-30). Is it Cynical to Believe the System is Corrupt? therealnews.com While a new poll shows most US citizens believe the political and economic system is rigged against them, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren also echo this sentiment. Some conservatives are now pushing back. But what says the evidence? Bill Black analyzes the situation…

Andrew Levine (2019-08-30). Let\'s Make the Next Debates Good for Something. counterpunch.org Do we really need three-ring circus \"debates\" to figure out that the only two candidates in the running for president who should be taken seriously are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren? Perhaps with Joe Biden still leading the pack; the sooner he is put back out to pasture, the better. Perhaps with Kamala Harris running More

RT (2019-08-30). Stunning but deadly: Satellite imagery shows Hurricane Dorian sparkling as it approaches US (VIDEO). rt.com As Hurricane Dorian makes its way to the US, a meteorologist has shared stunning satellite snaps of the \"extremely dangerous\" storm\'s brightly colored lightning eruptions amid swirling clouds that look like a fireworks display. | Hurricane Dorian putting on a lightning show tonight. | Spectacular imagery. pic.twitter.com/cdrs22PZqe— Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) August 30, 2019 | Meteorologist Dakota Smith shared the footage on Twitter and explained that the flashes seen in the…

RT (2019-08-30). American service member killed in Afghanistan as Trump vows US will \'always\' stay there. rt.com An American serviceman was killed in Afghanistan in combat operations, NATO said in a statement. The news comes just a day after President Trump announced there would \"always\" be a US presence in the country. | The soldier died on Thursday during a combat mission, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan announced in a statement on Friday, but withheld the serviceman\'s identity, per the organization\'s policies. | Also on rt.com | | \'We\'ll always have a presence\': Trump says 8,600 US troops will stay in Afghanistan | The serviceman is the third American fa…

RT (2019-08-30). \'Good luck determining what happened\': Trump says US not involved in Iranian satellite \'incident\'. rt.com US President Donald Trump denied any American involvement after reports of a failed Iranian satellite launch, in which a rocket is said to have exploded on a launch pad. Iran, meanwhile, has not issued any accusations of the sort.

RT (2019-08-30). \'Good luck determining what happened\': Trump says US not involved in Iranian satellite \'incident\'. rt.com

Staff (2019-08-30). Venezuela\'s Press Is More Free Than You\'d Think. therealnews.com Opposition figures regularly speak their mind on talk shows and news programs in Venezuela, undermining the notion that freedom of the press is highly restricted, says Joe Emersberger…

Staff (2019-08-30). Press Freedom in Venezuela: Much Freer Than Most Believe. therealnews.com Even a cursory glance at Venezuelan private television, shows that opposition figures regularly speak their mind on talk shows and news programs, undermining the notion that freedom of the press is highly restricted, says Joe Emersberger…

Ramzy Baroud (2019-08-30). Humanity Denied: What Is Missing from the Omar, Tlaib Story. counterpunch.org Israel\'s decision to bar two United States Democratic Representatives, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, from entering Israel and visiting Palestine has further exposed the belligerent, racist nature of the Israeli government. But our understanding of the Israeli decision, and the massive controversy and discussion it generated, should not stop there. Palestinians, who have been at More

Evaggelos Vallianatos (2019-08-30). The Amazon Inferno. counterpunch.org One of the lasting highlights of my teaching at the University of New Orleans in 1991-1992 was my travel to Brazil in January 1992 for a conference on climate change. This was a rehearsal for the June 1992 Earth Summit on Climate Change in Rio. My conference took place in Fortaleza, a beautiful town in More

Rob Urie (2019-08-30). The Rise of the \'Rise of the Global Right\'. counterpunch.org In the U.S., Donald Trump remains among the least popular presidents in modern history. Given the buoyant state of the U.S. economy, at least relative to the widespread misery of the prior decade, this unpopularity reinforces the political disillusion reflected in the 2016 election results. Only Jimmy Carter, who engineered a vicious recession in the More

Nick Pemberton (2019-08-30). Karl Marx and Religion. counterpunch.org Karl Marx is widely regarded as one of the most sophisticated theorists of human history. Marx was above all a scientist. He used the term historical materialism to explain that it was the material state of society that produced human relations. Today, perhaps especially in the United States, the mainstream tends to tell us it More

Christopher Brauchli (2019-08-30). Trump\'s Camps: the Odious Comparison. counterpunch.org That the comparison can be made is odious—so are the conditions. So is the one imposing them. He is the most odious of all and his stench pervades the country. He wasn\'t the first one to implement it when confronted by those he has made helpless. It happened in Hitler\'s Germany. It was not a More

R.R. (2019-08-30). Emergency Palantir Mass Mobilization to Stop ICE Terror. indybay.org An angry group of activists mobilized on August 23 at the headquarters of Palantir Technologies in Palo Alto. Just 3 days earlier Palantir renewed its ICE Investigative Case Management contract that enables ICE to track the every move of undocumented immigrants until 2022; protesters responded quickly and loudly. | Photos by Jack Owicki, Pro Bono Photo. Please credit the photographer.

Staff (2019-08-30). Over 1,100 Congregations Have Agreed to Provide Sanctuary to Migrants. truthout.org | | It\'s a hot, humid Wednesday in July but the doors of Manhattan\'s Holyrood Episcopal Church are wide open. A rainbow flag flies high above the entryway and a table covered with bilingual pro-immigrant leaflets greets all who enter. The leaflets explain the rights of immigrants, outline important precautions for immigrants to take, and offer tips to allies who want to help stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. | But the church has also done much more than this, providing in-churc…

Staff (2019-08-30). Public Charge Rule Is an Attempt to Impose a White Nationalist Vision of America. truthout.org | | Janine Jackson: It\'s long been obvious, to anyone with a passing acquaintance with white supremacy, that Donald Trump and his ilk\'s stance on immigration was never any more about \"legality\" than it was about all immigrants. | In the face of such an unprincipled and frankly hateful administration, a focus on the law as a bastion against irrationality is perhaps understandable. But that shoul…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2019-08-30). Does the US Military \"Own the Weather\"? \"Weaponizing the Weather\" as an Instrument of Modern Warfare? globalresearch.ca Weather-modification, according to the US Air Force document AF 2025 Final Report, \"offers the war fighter a wide range of possible options to defeat or coerce an adversary\", capabilities, it says, extend to the triggering of floods, hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes…

Joseph Natoli (2019-08-30). A Voting Calculus. counterpunch.org \"Reality is not always probable, or likely\" Borges tells us, but we are yet, presumptuously and foolishly, driven to find a logic and its calculus, especially regarding U.S. presidential elections. And so: Immigration: \"If the number of voters who do not want to discourage but welcome the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, More

Robert Norse (2019-08-30). City Attorney Stonewalls Homeless Activists on Settlement Conference. indybay.org After leveling the Ross Camp, sending its 200-300 residents fleeing into the parks, greenbelt, downtown, and neighborhoods, and fencing off the area, the City is now refusing to sit down and work out compromise settlement terms as suggested by Judge Edward Devila. It apparently prefers to incur more costs.at the expense of its homeless residents.

teleSUR -EF (2019-08-30). Ecuador: Ola Bini Faces New Charges Similar to Prior Ones. telesurenglish.net Ola Bini was called to appear at a court hearing in Quito on Thursday by Ecuador state prosecutors who now say they want to change the charges against the Swedish expert in open software development who has been under investigation by the government since April for supposedly \"hacking\" state computer systems. | RELATED: | Ecuadorean Tribunal Court Upholds Prison Order for Swedish Privacy Rights Activist Ola Bini | The hearing to change the charges…

Fight for What\'s Right (2019-08-30). Protesters Force Palantir to Empty HQ. indybay.org Palantir, the secretive $20 billion data-analysis company whose work with ICE has even led some of its own employees to make a fuss, succumbed to the power of protesters on August 23. The main office at 100 Hamilton, Palantir\'s world headquarters, was emptied in advance of the arrival of demonstrators. | Photo credit: Cornelia Grimes, Pro Bono Photo…

SF Demo (2019-08-30). Anti-War Protest: U.S. Out of Yemen. indybay.org As separatists and government-backed forces battle for control of the Yemeni capital, innocent civilians suffer. Yemeni-Americans and allies gathered in front of San Francisco\'s federal building on August 16 with a message for Nancy Pelosi. | PHOTOS: Please credit the photographer as noted | Terry Scussel, Pro Bono Photo.

WSWS (2019-08-30). Hong Kong mass rally banned as Chinese troops deployed in show of force. wsws.org Beijing is well aware that the protracted protests are being driven by underlying student and working class concerns about escalating social inequality.

End the Genocide in Yemen (2019-08-30). During Global Month of Action For Yemen, SF Protesters Make Demands of Pelosi. indybay.org As separatists and government-backed forces battle for control of the Yemeni capital, innocent civilians suffer. Yemeni-Americans and allies gathered in front of San Francisco\'s federal building on August 16 with a message for Nancy Pelosi. | PHOTOS: Please credit the photographer as noted | Cornelia Grimes, Pro Bono Photo.

South Front (2019-08-30). Video: Militants\' Failed Terror Attack in Eastern Idlib Ends in Disaster. globalresearch.ca On August 27, joint forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other militant groups launched an attack on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) near the town of Abu Dali in southern Idlib. Clashes between the SAA and militants erupted …

WSWS (2019-08-30). India crows over US support for its assault on Kashmir. wsws.org For almost four weeks, Jammu and Kashmir has been under a state of siege, with cell phone and internet service suspended, thousands held without charge, and security forces terrorizing the population.

Philip A Farruggio (2019-08-30). What About Me … I Feel The Future Trembling, Like a Stranger In the Land Where I was Born. globalresearch.ca Just about 50 years ago the West Coast rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service recorded \"What About Me\". Sadly, in this America 2019 the lyrics are more relevant. | Fifty years later! Let\'s analyze certain parts of the song: | What About Me…

Edward Curtin (2019-08-30). Get to It. \"The sweet smell of success. From an ignorant child you\'d never learn it\" globalresearch.ca From an ignorant child you\'d never learn it. | Yet the sophisticated know it is work | That is the secret of the good life. God forbid, | Not labor that breaks your back, picking | Vegetables, cleaning toilets, laying down | That steaming hot …

Peter Koenig (2019-08-30). G7 — The Cost of Uselessness. globalresearch.ca The G7 Summit is an obsolete, useless talking shop, as Finnian Cunningham so adroitly says. RT calls it The Unbearable Pointlessness of G7. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States constitute the G7 gang. It should …

Andrew Korybko (2019-08-30). Are Russia and India Global Partners? The Brahmos Supersonic Missiles, The Russia-China Relationship. globalresearch.ca The announcement that the Brahmos supersonic missiles jointly produced by Russia and India will soon be exported to third countries that are on friendly relations with both increases the odds that their historic Vietnamese partners might receive these game-changing weapons….

Peter Koenig (2019-08-30). Iran: The Lifting of Sanctions, Is a Rouhani-Trump Meeting Imminent? globalresearch.ca Tehran and Washington have been locked in a dispute since last year when the US unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear agreement and re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he is ready to meet his …

Cheikh Amma Diop (2019-08-30). Reality Check: Bank of England Governor Criticizes the Petrodollar! globalresearch.ca GR Editor\'s Note. | Mark Carney is a Canadian citizen and former senior official at Goldman Sachs before becoming Governor of the Bank of Canada (2008-2013). | He was the first foreign national since the founding of the Bank of England in …

Nyla Ali Khan (2019-08-30). Kashmiri Pride and Dignity: My Grandfather\'s Dream Will Not Be Forgotten. counterpunch.org In Kashmir, dissenting voices, even those of legislators and parliamentarians of opposition parties, have been muzzled. And with the lack of accountability suspension of phone and internet services in the Valley, the populace of Kashmir continues to remain incommunicado. In doing so, the federal government has ignored constitutional checks and balances that ought to prevent More

Michael T. Klare (2019-08-30). The Pentagon\'s New Missile Drive Is Bringing Armageddon Closer. thenation.com The Pentagon\'s New Missile Drive Is Bringing Armageddon Closer…

Press TV (2019-08-30). Is a Rouhani-Trump Meeting Imminent? dissidentvoice.org PressTV Interview Transcript www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qsp1UcXqEo&feature=youtu.be Peter Koenig 29 August 2019 Background Tehran and Washington have been locked in a dispute since last year when the US unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear agreement and re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he is ready to meet his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani within …

WSWS (2019-08-30). US alarmed over end to South Korea-Japan intelligence sharing. wsws.org Seoul\'s decision to withdraw from a key intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo is part of the deepening rift between Washington\'s two military allies in North East Asia over economic and strategic issues.

WSWS (2019-08-30). Johnson\'s proroguing of Parliament: The British ruling class declares war on democratic rights. wsws.org The move by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to prorogue the \"Mother of all Parliaments\" and govern by executive fiat is part of a turn toward dictatorial forms of rule by the ruling classes throughout the world.

Chris Wright (2019-08-30). Capitalism, Socialism, and Existential Despair. dissidentvoice.org Decades ago, Edward Said remarked that contemporary life is characterized by a \"generalized condition of homelessness.\" Decades earlier, Martin Heidegger had written that \"Homelessness is coming to be the destiny of the world.\" Around the same time, fascists were invoking the themes of blood and soil, nation, race, community, as intoxicating antidotes to the mass …

WSWS (2019-08-30). New Jersey Democrats authorize bonds to cover up Newark water crisis. wsws.org A bond issue of $120 million was pushed through before residents were given an opportunity to attend hearings or scrutinize details of the proposal to replace all lead service lines in the city.